


Fire With Fire

by hazel_3017



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Demonic Possession, Demons, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 17:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3496454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazel_3017/pseuds/hazel_3017
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s too late by the time Sid realises what has happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire With Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction

It’s too late by the time Sid realises what has happened. 

Geno was  _different_  after, but not so much so that Sid noticed—and why would he? There was no cause to suspect that anything was wrong. They had been so busy, so stressed, just the two of them hunting down the Duval twins. The twins weren’t particularly high on the totem pole of demon hierarchy, but they were vicious and murderous, killing the townspeople of Creeky Village just for the fun of it.  
  
Geno catches them first, inside the children’s ward at the local hospital. Sid isn’t there when it happens. He’s tied up by a couple of hell hounds that needs dealing with before Sid can move on—and how the fuck the Duval twins got their hands on a pack of hell hounds he doesn’t know.

He empties a round of salt bullets into the last of the hounds, sighing with relief when it collapses to the ground and doesn’t get back up. He looks down at the bite wound on his thigh, wincing at the amount of blood seeping out. He’s got to find Geno, and there is no time to deal with the wound, so Sidney grits his teeth and takes off, stalking down an abandoned corridor in search of his partner. 

"Geno!" he calls out, gun cocked and ready, held up in front of his face, ready to take aim. "Where the hell are you?"

"I’m right here."

Sid gasps, spinning around on his heel so fast he’s dizzy with it. “Shit! You scared me! Don’t do that, asshole.” 

Geno blinks at him slowly. He cocks his head to the side, eyes roving over Sidney so obviously that Sidney can’t help but shift on his feet. 

He is fading fast, struggling to keep his eyes open, and if he hadn’t been so exhausted from the hell hounds and the blood loss, he would have noticed then. He would have realised that Geno wasn’t just acting strange, he wasn’t acting like himself at all. He  _wasn’t_  himself.

As it is, Sid says, “What?” feeling self-conscious under Geno’s intense gaze.

Geno steps closer, and Sidney lowers his gun as he approaches, tilting his head back to keep eye contact the closer Geno gets.

He stops when he’s only a step away, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “You smell delicious,” Geno says.

"Okay?" Sid blinks. That’s not- Geno is acting weird. "Are you all right? Did you find the twins?"

Lightning quick, almost too fast for Sid to notice, something dark passes over Geno’s face. Sidney has to force himself not to take a step back. Later, he will think back to that moment and rage at himself for not realising sooner.

Now, Geno nods with a smirk on his face. And this is familiar, this is how Sid is used to seeing him. “Yes, I’m find,” Geno tells him. “The male demon, too slow for me, I’m vanquish him.”

"Holy shit!" Sid exclaims. "For real? You really got him? What about the female?"

Geno’s smirk falls away, and there is a dark look in his eyes as he says, “The female escape. But she hurt. Think she won’t be problem.”

Sid shakes his head. “If she’s still alive then we gotta find her. You killed her brother, G. She won’t be happy.”

Geno looks at him for a long moment. He narrows his eyes into thin slits. “No, she not happy at all.”

Her human name is Cassandra, Sid will learn later. It’s the closest approximation of her demon name, a language no human tongue can utter. Geno didn’t lie when he said she escaped, but what they didn’t know, what they wouldn’t find out until weeks later, was that she had fled into Geno’s body, her damaged spirit taking refuge inside his human flesh until she was fit enough to take over, to kill Geno from within like a slow-spreading cancer. It was easy not to notice. For a time she is too weak to take possession of him, but with every new day her strength grows, and her hold on Geno’s body with it.  
  
Life carries on for them, hunting demons and saving people, but Geno is distant, easily distracted. 

A couple of months after Creeky village, the two of them have chased down a pack of ghouls into an old abandoned church, and when Geno reaches for a nearby cross, the metal sears into his skin. For a moment, everyone is so startled that they all just sort of freeze. But Sidney has always been quick on his feet, and before the ghouls can attack, he finishes the banishment spell he’s been reciting while Geno held them off.

"What the hell was that?" he demands when the ghouls are gone and Sid and Geno are left staring at the burn mark on Geno’s hand. "What did you do?"

"Didn’t do anything!" Geno protests. He’s wincing, shaking his hand as if to rid himself of the sting of the burn.

"Stop that," Sidney tells him. He reaches for the flask he keeps at his belt. "Here, we’ll have to clean the burn." He uses his teeth to unscrew the cap and then grabs Geno’s hand, holding it still while he starts pouring water over it. 

They gasp in synch when Geno’s skin starts searing, melting under the stream of holy water. There’s a sizzling sound and a tendril of smoke that Sidney has seen hundreds of times before. It’s what happens when a demon comes into contact with that which is blessed by the Father, such as a cross or holy water.  
  
"Geno?" Sidney’s voice is small, scared, and when he looks up from Geno’s palm to his eyes, he stumbles backwards.

Geno’s eyes are flickering between the familiar brown that Sidney loves and an ugly demonic yellow.

"Y-you-you’re not—" Sidney breaks off. He can’t even finish the sentence. It’s too horrible to contemplate.

"I’m not what?"

It’s Geno’s voice, but the sound is all wrong. Smug without the fondness, intentionally cruel. ”I’m not Geno?” the voice continues speaking. Geno’s body moves, the limbs more fluid and graceful than Geno has ever been. “You’re right. You may call me Cassandra.”

"Cassandra?" Sid repeats dumbly. He didn’t even notice doing it, but he’s holding out the cross between himself and Geno, keeping him—her—from getting closer. Sidney holds back a scream. "Where is Geno?"

The demon, for that is what she is, Sidney knows, smiles widely. It looks twisted on Geno’s face. Far more crueller than Sidney has ever seen him. 

"Where is he?" the demon echoes mockingly. "Surely, you know. He’s here, and he’s not."

"Get out of him. He is not yours to take. Get out!" Sidney tells her, and she laughs, looking from Sidney’s furious eyes to the cross in his hands. 

"Oh, sweetheart. Why would I listen to you? This is a marvellous body. Far superior to my last one. I quite like this one."

"It’s not yours," Sidney bites out. "Get out!"

The demon chuckles. “You are so naive for someone in your line of work. There is still so much you don’t know.”

She lifts Geno’s hand, staring at the burn on his palm. “Do you know what happens to the human soul when sharing a body with a demon?” She casts a sly glance at Sidney. “It’s not just the person who dies, you know. The mind disappears and the soul erodes. It’s already too late. We’ve shared a body for too long.” She chuckles at Sidney’s horrified gasp. “Yes,” she hisses out, satisfied. “Now you’re getting it.” 

She walks closer, so close that Sidney has to lower the cross or let it sear into Geno’s chest.

"There is no reincarnation. No soul to ascend to the heavens. No afterlife." She stretches her lips into an ugly, twisted parody of Geno’s grin. "The soul erodes and there is nothing left. It’s just gone."

"No," Sidney whispers. "No, no, no." He exhales shakily. "Please," he says. "Please. I’ll find another body for you, just let him go."

She laughs at that. “Oh, the great Sidney Crosby. The principled man, the honourable one. Will you truly doom someone else to this fate?”

"If it will save Geno. Yes."

She seems stunned at that, and her surprise is enough for Geno to regain control. “Sid!” he grits out, his eyes flickering wildly.

"Geno?" Sidney asks hesitantly, and when their eyes meet, Geno’s are brown again. "Geno!" He chucks away the cross, stepping forward until he can close his arms around him. "You’re still here. Thank God, you’re still here!"

Geno is breathing heavily. He sags against Sidney’s hold, letting him support his weight. “Sid,” he says. “Can’t do what you say.”

Sidney whimpers, already shaking his head, but Geno ignores him. “No,” he continues. “Listen to me. The demon, I’m recognise her. She is the female Duval twin. The one I’m think escape. She posses me instead, Sid. Too long, has been too long to save me.”

"No," Sidney says, his voice a strangled sob. "Please don’t do this. I can save you, I can find someone else for her."

"You can’t protect me, Sid," Geno says, and it is a horrible truth. "You have to let me go. Have to do vanquish spell to defeat demon."

"You’ll die." Sidney clutches at Geno. He wants to shake him, to scream and rage until he agrees to let Sid do what he wants. "You won’t survive the exorcism. You know that. Please, Geno," he begs. "Please don’t do that to me. Don’t make me your killer."

Geno squeezes his arms tight around him, drawing Sidney closer to him. “Don’t let her take my body,” he counters. “For she will take my soul with it.”

Sidney shakes his head. “It’s not fair! I’ve been so stupid. Why didn’t I notice before? This isn’t fair!”

"Life’s not fair," Geno says, and he sounds so tired and so resigned Sidney can’t bring himself to argue anymore. "Please, Sidney. You must do this for me. Can’t save me, Sid, but can save my soul."

They have been together a long time, the two of them. From partners to friends, and from friends to lovers, Sid and Geno have hunted together. They have saved countless lives, provided peace to dozens and dozens of lost souls, and somehow, Sid had never thought that there would come a day where they wouldn’t be together anymore. They were supposed to finish out the great hunt before retiring in the country. They were supposed to get married and adopt a whole bunch of kids and die in their bed, old and together. They were always supposed to go together. 

"This isn’t fair," Sidney says again. "It’s not supposed to be like this." It’s the closes thing Sidney will get to saying okay.

"I’m know. I’m sorry," Geno says. He does sound sorry too, and that just makes everything so much worse. It’s not his fault. It’s no one’s fault, really, but Sidney is furious all the same.

"Sid, have to do it now. She wants back. Can feel her fighting."

Sidney can’t help but let his tears fall then. “No, no, please. Not now. It’s too soon,” he cries. “Please, Geno.  _Please_.”

But Geno’s hold is growing weaker, and this is his partner’s last request. As much as he wants to, Sidney cannot deny him this.

He lifts his head and draws Geno in for a long kiss. Their last kiss.

"Do it now," Geno says when they break apart, and Sidney does. He whispers the words into Geno’s neck, an ancient spell passed down to him by his ancestors. 

"I’m love you so much," Geno tells him.

Sidney holds back a sob. He closes his eyes and says the final word. 

Geno goes slack in his arms, his knees buckling underneath him as he falls to the ground.

There is a hiss and a big cloud of smoke as the demon leaves his body, and then there is nothing. Nothing but the sound of Sidney’s cries.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry," he chants, falling to his knees beside Geno’s body. His eyes are still open, and Sidney reaches out with shaking fingers to gently close his lids.

"I’m sorry. Please forgive me."

Geno doesn’t answer him. He can’t; he is dead and Sidney has killed him.

Sidney has killed his body and his mind, but he has saved his soul, and while it is not much of a comfort, it is what Geno wanted.

He doesn’t know how long he sits on the cold floor next to Geno’s dead body, but hours has passed before Sidney finds the strength to move. They had defeated the ghouls, but the church is old and marked by evil. It’s a breeding ground for demons and their ilk.  _We fight fire with fire_ , Sidney thinks, and feels his heart break from what he knows he must do. The church cannot stand. It must be burned, and Geno’s body with it.

The body is fresh enough that any demon would find it perfect for habitation. Only fire will save it from possession.  

This is what Geno would have wanted him to do, Sidney knows, though the knowledge doesn’t make his task any easier. Bending over Geno, Sidney presses his lips to Geno’s cold ones. “I love you too.”

He gets to his feet, and walks out before he can change his mind and bring Geno’s body with him. Outside, he has to take a deep breath before he walks over to Geno’s stupid Porsche, rooting around the trunk for the gasoline and the lighter they always keep there. It’s a quick enough job to douse the church with the liquid, and then there is only one left thing to do.

"We fight fire with fire," Sidney recites the familiar words, and sets the church ablaze.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written on my [tumblr](http://hazel3017.tumblr.com) for a prompt fill: ["You can't protect me."](http://hazel-3017.tumblr.com/post/112908099066/12-sid-geno)


End file.
